Dooly County, Georgia

Dooly County Education, Geography, and History

Dooly County is a county located in the state of Georgia. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 14,918. The county was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on May 15, 1821. The county seat is Vienna.  Dooly county is named for Colonel John Dooly, a Georgia American revolutionary war fighter.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Etymology - Origin of Dooly County Name

The county is named for Colonel John Dooly, a revolutionary war hero who helped prosecute Tories in 1779 and was murdered by them the following year.

Dooly County History

Dooly County, the 48th county formed in Georgia, was created in 1821. It was one of the original land lot counties and was later divided to make Crisp and parts of Macon, Pulaski, Turner, Wilcox, and Worth counties. The county  was one of the original land lot counties created from land ceded from the Creek Nation.

The county was named for Colonel John Dooly, a revolutionary war hero who helped prosecute Tories in 1779 and was murdered by them the following year. Vienna, the county seat, was named after the capital of Austria.

Historic sites in the county include the Dooly County Courthouse. Built in 1891 of granite, slate, and brick, the structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Dooly Campground, which was built in 1875, is an open-air tabernacle constructed with hand-hewn timbers that still hosts many community activities.

Points of Interest

Vienna is home to the Georgia State Cotton Museum and Dooly County Welcome Center.

Hunting is popular in Dooly County, with sportsmen bagging deer, dove, quail, duck, rabbit, squirrel, and turkey. The county participates in a pilot deer hunting program designed to increase the number of large bucks in the area.

Notable Citizens

Dooly County claims several notable Georgians past and present. Walter F. George was a member of the US Senate from 1922-1957, served as President Pro Tem of the Senate and chaired the Finance and Foreign Relations Committees. A museum honoring George, located in his old law office, operates in Vienna. George Busbee, governor from 1975-1983, was born and raised in Dooly County. Roger Kingdom, gold medalist in the high hurdles at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, was born in Dooly County. Jody Powell, press secretary to President Jimmy Carter, also hails from the county.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 397 square miles (1,030 km²), of which 392 square miles (1,020 km²) is land and 5.3 square miles (14 km²) (1.3%) is water.

 Dooly county is located close to the center of Georgia.    The county is in the Flint River basin and the Ocmulgee River basin.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Houston County; Pulaski County
• Southeast: Wilcox County
• South: Crisp County
• Southwest: Sumter County
• Northwest: Macon County

Education

Compare More Colleges and Universities

Find more schools to match to your needs.

Start Now